If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Hey, I was looking on MS.com trying to find an answer to your question and i didnt find an definate one but, i do have an educated guess lol I would say that they stop support for a certain product after 7-8 years of life. My reasoning to this is that win 95' isnt supported anymore and NT 4.0 stopped being supported last year. also, im not sure but i would guess that the first version on win 98' is on its last legs too... anyway thats my 2 cents.

If you are looking for details on "end of life" dates you can use THIS PAGE from Microsoft to find out.

You just fill in the name of the product (like Windows 98 se or Windows 2000) and you get the full details about support

For Windows 2000 products the mainstream support stopped on 6/30/2005 and extended support retires on 6/30/2010

Paid incident support is now available through June 30, 2006. Extended hotfix support for Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition ended on June 30, 2003. Extended hotfix support for Windows Millennium Edition ended on December 31, 2003. Online self-help support will continue to be available until at least June 30, 2007.

As you can see in this part of the text when you use the tool is, when your company pays for support on Windows 98 se they'll get support through June 30, 2006.

A more detailed report for Windows 98 se extended support can be found HERE .

Microsoft have had to bow to overseas legislation. In Europe, significant products have to be supported for 10 years. What that means is being capable of functioning as purchased.

So, security and bug fixes would be included, but no enhanced functionality. The security and bug fixes cover the product performing "as sold/as purchased", and being "fit for purpose/of merchantable quality"